EFFECTS OF IMPROVISED AND STANDARD INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ON ACHIEVEMENT IN SOCIAL STUDIES IN NASARAWA-EGGON, NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the effects of improvised and standard instructional materials on students’ achievement in Social Studies in Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses. A quasi-experimental, non-randomised pretest–posttest–post-posttest control-group design was adopted. The population comprised 6,200 Upper Basic II students, from which a sample of 146 students (87 males and 59 females) was selected from three public secondary schools using intact classes. Data were collected using the Social Studies Achievement Test (SOSAT), a 40-item multiple-choice instrument with a reliability coefficient of 0.74 established using the Kuder–Richardson 21 method. The data were analysed using mean, standard deviation, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed a significant difference in the achievement scores of students taught using improvised instructional materials, standard instructional materials, and the conventional teaching method (F(2,144) = 31.80, p < .001). Students exposed to standard instructional materials recorded the highest achievement gain (9.13), followed by those taught with improvised instructional materials (8.72), while the conventional group recorded the lowest gain (2.34). The findings also showed that gender had no significant influence on students’ achievement when instructional materials were used. The study concluded that both improvised and standard instructional materials enhance students’ achievement in Social Studies. It was recommended that teachers should integrate appropriate instructional materials into classroom instruction, while education authorities should support the provision of standard resources and encourage teachers’ capacity for developing locally relevant instructional materials.